Penn State senior Ty Howle is ready to show he belongs at center

Penn State's senior center waited, and worked, longer than anyone for this chance.

You could call Ty Howle the new leader of the offensive line -- even though most Nittany Lion followers only know him in passing.

And yet he's enjoying a strong month of spring practice, according to teammates, as he pushes to nail down a starting spot for the first time.

Consider how long he's been a Lion -- longer, in a sense, than anyone else on the field.

Howle is the son of a high school coach in North Carolina and was the first member of his recruiting class to verbally commit to Penn State midway through his junior year. It was March of 2008.

He actually got regular playing time rather quickly, it's just that it was two years of anonymous snapping on field goals and extra points.

Last season, he missed the first month with a torn pectoral muscle, recovering strong to start the season finale at guard.

But he still knew his true home. He had learned as much as possible from outgoing All-Big Ten center Matt Stankiewitch, anticipating his big chance.

Teammate, good friend and fellow lineman John Urschel gave some needed perspective to the situation last week.

"When I got here I thought Ty was the best offensive lineman in our year, out of the seven of us," Urschel said. "He isn't a guy blessed with great intangibles, like Donovan (Smith), but he gets the job done."

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Howle hopes to be a key figure in the transition to a new season, which continues Saturday with the annual Blue-White Game in Beaver Stadium.

"I can talk about Ty all day," Urschel said. "He's one of the most underrated players on the team."

And now he has finally worked himself near the top of that lineman-loaded recruiting class. Members include Urschel, Eric Shrive, Adam Gress, Nate Cadogan, Mark Arcidiacono and Frank Figueroa.

Shrive, a former prestigious, five-star recruit, is battling Gress for a starting spot; Cadogan is now on the defensive line and Arcidiacono and Figuerora are no longer on the team.

Meanwhile, Howle will be analyzing the defense in front of him on every play and calling out the assignments for his linemen.

He must handle the football cleanly each snap.

The center, in essence, holds everything together.

And at least Howle has plenty of program, practice and situational game experience. His backups -- redshirt freshman Wendy Laurent and redshirt sophomore Angelo Mangiro -- have none.

He also has the football smarts and discipline. He's one of the top students on the team, graduating in 31/2 years with a 3.59 grade-point average and hopes to become a physical therapist.

He's also found time to be head of operations for the university's chapter of Uplifting Athletes, an organization that raises money and awareness to fight rare diseases, including kidney cancer, at Penn State.

"He's a great leader, leads by example, also," Shrive said of Howle. "He's someone the younger guys can look up to."

Said Urschel: "He's a strong, tough football player -- a consistent player. You don't see him missing a day with little injuries. I'm blessed to have him next to me."

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